Case For Support

Vaccines have the ability to end needless suffering as a result of preventable diseases.

Vaccines have been hailed as one of the top public health achievements of the 20th century, second only to clean water. Among children alone, vaccination prevents nearly 20 million cases of infectious diseases and 42,000 deaths every year in the United States. And the benefits extend beyond health – routine childhood vaccination also saves the U.S. $13.5 billion in direct costs and $68.8 billion in total societal costs annually.

Data gathered by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that a significant proportion of children, adolescents, and adults are still not receiving all of the vaccines according to the recommended immunization schedules, leading to nationwide outbreaks of measles, pertussis (whooping cough), influenza, pneumonia, and more. Influenza and pneumonia remain among the top ten causes of death in both men and women in the U.S.

As long as a single person continues to fall victim to a vaccine-preventable disease, our work is not complete. Learn more about our organization's accomplishments and exciting plans for the future through our Case for Support.

Funding

Annual Report

The 2016 Every Child By Two Annual Report is now available to download by clicking here.

Funding Policy

2017 Sources of Funding

Anthem

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Dale Bumpers Memorial Donations

GlaxoSmithKline

Merck

Pfizer

Private/Individual Donations

Sanofi Pasteur

Rosalynn Carter, Former First Lady

President of the ECBT Board & Co-founder of ECBT

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter has worked for more than three decades to improve the quality of life for people around the world. Today, she is an advocate for mental health, caregiving, early childhood immunization, human rights, and conflict resolution through her work at The Carter Center in Atlanta, Ga. The Center is a private, nonprofit institution founded by former President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter in 1982. A full partner with the president in all the Center's activities, the former first lady is a member of the Carter Center board of trustees. She created and chairs the Carter Center's Mental Health Task Force, an advisory body of experts, consumers, and advocates promoting positive change in the mental health field. Each year, she hosts the Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy, bringing together leaders of the nation's mental health organizations to address critical issues. Mrs. Carter emerged as a driving force for mental health when, during the Carter administration, she became active honorary chair of the President's Commission on Mental Health, which resulted in passage of the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980.

A mother of four, she has maintained a lifelong dedication to issues affecting women and children. In 1991, she founded Every Child By Two with Betty Bumpers, wife of former U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers of Arkansas. Mrs. Carter plays an active role in the activities of ECBT promoting the importance of timely immunizations. She also works with Habitat for Humanity, participating in the annual one-week Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project that in 1984 began building homes for the needy, and Project Interconnections, a public/private nonprofit partnership to provide housing for homeless people who are mentally ill. She served as distinguished centennial lecturer at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Ga., from 1988-1992 and is currently a distinguished fellow at the Emory University Department of Women's Studies in Atlanta.

She served on the Policy Advisory Board of The Atlanta Project (TAP), a program of The Carter Center addressing the social ills associated with poverty and quality of life citywide, from the program's inception in 1991 until its transfer to Georgia State University in 1999. In 1988, she convened with three other former first ladies the "Women and the Constitution" conference at The Carter Center to assess that document's impact on women. Outside the Center, Mrs. Carter is president of the board of directors for the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI) at Georgia Southwestern State University, which was established in her honor on the campus of her alma mater in Americus, Ga. Through research, education, and training, the RCI promotes the mental health and well-being of individuals, families, and professional caregivers; delineates effective caregiving practices; builds public awareness of caregiving needs; and advances public and social policies that enhance caring communities. Since graduating from Georgia Southwestern College in l946, Mrs. Carter has received many honors, among them the Volunteer of the Decade Award from the National Mental Health Association; the Award of Merit for Support of the Equal Rights Amendment from the National Organization for Women; the Notre Dame Award for International Service; the Eleanor Roosevelt Living World Award from Peace Links; the Kiwanis World Service Medal from Kiwanis International Foundation; the Jefferson Award from the American Institute for Public Service; the Georgia Woman of the Year Award from the Georgia Commission on Women; the Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health from the Institute of Medicine; the United States Surgeon General's Medallion; and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor. In 2001, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. She has written five books: her autobiography, "First Lady from Plains"; "Everything To Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life," a book about life after the White House co-authored with President Carter; "Helping Yourself Help Others: A Book For Caregivers" (with Susan K. Golant); "Helping Someone with Mental Illness: A Compassionate Guide for Family, Friends, and Caregivers" (with Susan K. Golant), which was selected as the winner of the 1999 American Society of Journalists and Authors Outstanding Book Award in the service category; and "Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis" (with Susan K. Golant and Kathryn E. Cade).

She continues to travel and speak throughout the world, is a deacon at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga., and enjoys fly-fishing, bird-watching, swimming, and biking in her free time.

Betty Bumpers, Former First Lady of Arkansas/Wife of Senator Dale Bumpers

Vice President of the ECBT Board and Co-founder of ECBT

Betty Bumpers is the Co-founder and Vice President of Every Child By Two. She is the wife of Senator Dale Bumpers (retired), a mother of three children, and a former art teacher. Mrs. Bumpers received her education at Iowa State University, the University of Arkansas, and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts.

During her husband’s tenure as Governor of Arkansas, Betty Bumpers was the leader of a successful statewide immunization program for children, which was later used by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention as a national model for other states. During the presidency of Jimmy Carter, she worked with First Lady Rosalynn Carter to implement immunization programs state-by-state. She and Rosalynn Carter have been credited with the passage of laws mandating vaccination at school entry, which now exist in every state. As a result of these laws, the United States has a 95% plus immunization rate for school enrollees. Realizing the need to immunize our preschool age children and the need to increase the immunization rates for our nation’s uninsured, underinsured and undocumented children, they have continued their efforts through Every Child By Two.

Betty Bumpers has served on the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, the National League for Nursing Board, the All Kids Count Advisory Board, and the Family Place Project Advisory Committee for Libraries for Our Future.

In commemoration of the vigilant advocacy of both Betty Bumpers and her husband, former Senator Dale Bumpers, the National Institutes for Health named their vaccine research center after the Bumpers. The Dale and Betty Bumpers Vaccine Research Center is a joint venture of the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and incorporates a core of NIH scientists with expertise in immunology, virology and HIV research.

In addition to her vigilant efforts to eliminate preventable diseases in our children, Betty Bumpers dedicated herself to Peace Links, an international women's peace education group that she founded in 1981. Reaching and involving mainstream, grassroots citizens in activities that reduce the threat of nuclear war, promoted alternative ways to solve conflict and encouraged dialogue and understanding between women internationally, Peace Link was a major force in ending the Nuclear Arms race. Although they officially disbanded in 2001, they have active members in all fifty states who continue to work towards attaining peace within our communities by taking part in discussions with women and children throughout the world who strive to create a better place for our children to live. Mrs. Bumpers was nominated by Senator Tom Harken of Iowa and appointed by President Bill Clinton and served a 5-year term on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Institute of Peace.

John Crotty

Secretary of the ECBT Board

John currently serves as the Secretary of the Board for Every Child By Two. As the founder of O-L-I Interactive, Inc. in Cleveland, OH, John brings 35 years in Advertising, Design, Graphics and Marketing experience to the board. John has been a member of the board of Every Child By Two since it was founded. He is a U.S. Navy Veteran.

Claire Hannan, MPH

Chair of the ECBT Board

In addition to being the current Chair of Every Child By Two, Claire is the Executive Director of The Association of Immunization Managers (AIM).

Claire has served in her position a Executive Director of AIM since 2004. Claire has over 18 years of experience in children’s health and immunization. After working on Capitol Hill for 5 years, Claire spent 3 years lobbying for children’s health issues. In 1997, she became the Director of Immunization Policy for the Association of State & Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), where she worked with state health officials, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and other partners to improve and enhance immunization policies and practices. She joined the Association of Immunization Managers as its first Executive Director in 2004. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Wagner College in Staten Island, NY and a Masters degree in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.

Errol R. Alden, MD, FAAP

Errol R. Alden, MD, FAAP, is President of the International Pediatric Association Foundation and former Executive Director/CEO of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists, based in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.

Dr. Alden is Board Certified in the fields of Pediatrics and Neonatology.

Dr Alden was the Chief Investigator for the Future of Pediatric Education II Project (FOPE) and served on the International Pediatric Association's (IPA) Standing and Executive Committees.

Dr. Alden has authored/co-authored over 45 published articles along with numerous abstracts, commentaries and chapters.

Dr. Alden and colleagues won the Gold Medal Award from the AAP in 1977 for their work in teaching neonatal resuscitation. Dr Alden was responsible for the adoption of the Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) by the AAP and the national and international distribution of the Program. In 2006, Dr Alden spearheaded and supported the adoption of the NRP into a low literacy edition – Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) – which has been effective in markedly decreasing neonatal morbidity and mortality in the underdeveloped world.

In addition to his work with the AAP, Dr Alden served as Vice-Chair/Chair of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) from 2003-2005. Dr. Alden also serves on the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS), and as an Alternate Delegate to the American Medical Association (AMA).

Dr. Alden was awarded the Joseph St Geme Jr., Leadership Award in May 1997, the only award for leadership in medical education given by the entire pediatric community.

A 1966 graduate of Ohio State University, Dr Alden completed his internship and residency at Madigan Army Medical Center and a fellowship in neonatology at the University of Washington, Seattle.

Dr. Alden is currently Clinical Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.

Sarah Despres

Treasurer

Sarah Despres is a Director of Government Relations for the Pew Charitable Trusts specializing in health related projects. Prior to joining Pew in February, 2011, Sarah was a counsel on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and prior to that, on the House Government Reform Committee. Sarah graduated from Northeastern University School of Law in 1996. She is a member of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee.

Mary-Beth Koslap-Petraco, DNP(c), PNP-BC, CPNP

Dr. Mary Beth Koslap-Petraco is coordinator for child health at Suffolk County Department of Health Service in New York, a primary care provider and preceptor for graduate and undergraduate students, and an assistant professor at Long Island University Post in Greenvale, New York. She is a nationally known expert in immunization practice and is an advisor for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and served on the Advisory Board of the Immunization Action Coalition and National Vaccine Advisory Committee. Dr. Koslap-Petraco has advised local and state health departments on immunization public policies using her expertise as a public health nurse to influence system level changes. Dr. Koslap-Petraco is the PKIDS on line Advice Nurse, and currently serves on the Executive Board and Scientific Advisory Board of Every Child by Two.

Dr. Koslap-Petraco has provided written, audio, and video commentary for three widely read parent education web sites: pkids.org, shotofprevention.org, and vaccinateyourbaby.org. She led the development of the staff influenza immunization program for the Suffolk County Department of Health Services. This project realized a sustained staff immunization rate over 90% for over five years. Her personal passion and enthusiasm for quality healthcare for children and families has been recognized through numerous recognition awards from both consumer groups and professional societies. Dr. Koslap-Petraco has collaborated on several evidence-based projects to improve the health care outcomes for high risk infants, toddlers, and adolescent mothers. In addition, she has championed her individual work to reduce the incidence of obesity in the pediatric population. Dr. Koslap-Petraco has been an invited speaker at multiple international, national, state, and local conferences. In recognition of her work in clinical practice and public policy she was inducted as a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Dr. Koslap-Petraco is widely published, and has authored chapters on immunizations in two textbooks. She received the Doctor of Nursing Practice and an MS in child health and pediatric nursing from Stony Brook University where her doctoral project centered on the prevention of overweight in Latino preschoolers. Dr. Koslap-Petraco received a BSN from Excelsior College in Albany, New York and earned a diploma from the Bellevue School of Nursing in New York City.

Catherine Flores Martin

Catherine Flores Martin is Executive Director for the California Immunization Coalition and is involved in state, regional and local immunization coalition development and planning. Catherine’s professional work for and with non-profits, public health departments, hospitals and clinics have helped make her an effective leader in developing community and provider education strategies for promoting immunizations across the lifespan and engage support for immunization registries.

Catherine works in partnership with Coalition members representing health care systems, private medical practices, public health departments, nonprofit organizations and volunteer programs to coordinate and facilitate professional and community education programs, conferences and media events, provider updates, regional immunization events and California’s annual statewide Summit. In addition to leading the California Immunization Coalition, she also serves as a consultant to the VIC Network, a project of the National Public Health Information Coalition (NPHIC) and CIC. In this role, Ms. Martin engages with local, state and national partners to identify resources develop collaborative partnerships, utilize social media and other technologies to promote immunization communication strategies to local, state and national stakeholders.

Paul Offit, MD

Paul A. Offit, MD is the Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In addition, Dr. Offit is the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology and a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He is a recipient of many awards including the J. Edmund Bradley Prize for Excellence in Pediatrics from the University of Maryland Medical School, the Young Investigator Award in Vaccine Development from the Infectious Disease Society of America, and a Research Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Offit has published more than 140 papers in medical and scientific journals in the areas of rotavirus-specific immune responses and vaccine safety. He is also the co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, RotaTeq, recommended for universal use in infants by the CDC; for this achievement Dr. Offit received the Luigi Mastroianni and William Osler Awards from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the Charles Mérieux Award from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases; and was honored by Bill and Melinda Gates during the launch of their Foundation’s Living Proof Project for global health. In 2009, Dr. Offit received the President’s Certificate for Outstanding Service from the American Academy of Pediatrics. In 2011, Dr. Offit received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Biologics Industry Organization (BIO), the Distinguished Medical Achievement Award from the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the David E. Rogers Award from the American Association of Medical Colleges, the Odyssey Award from the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, and was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr Offit was a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is a founding advisory board member of the Autism Science Foundation and the Foundation for Vaccine Research. He is also the author of five medical narratives: The Cutter Incident: How America’s First Polio Vaccine Led to Today’s Growing Vaccine Crisis (Yale University Press, 2005), Vaccinated: One Man’s Quest to Defeat the World’s Deadliest Diseases (HarperCollins, 2007), for which he won an award from the American Medical Writers Association, Autism’s False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure (Columbia University Press, 2008), Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All (Basic Books, 2011), and Killing Us Softly: The Sense and Nonsense of Alternative Medicine (HarperCollins, 2012).

Walt Orenstein, MD

Walter A. Orenstein, MD, is Associate Director of the Emory Vaccine Center and Director of the Influenza Pathogenesis and Immunology Research Center (IPIRC) at Emory University having returned to Emory in October 2011. From 2008 through 2011, Dr. Orenstein was Deputy Director for Immunization Programs in the Vaccine Delivery department of the Global Health Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. His primary focus at the foundation had been on polio eradication, measles control, and improving routine immunization programs.

Between 2004 and 2008, he was a Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at Emory University, Associate Director of the Emory Vaccine Center and Director of the Emory Program on Vaccine Policy and Development among other responsibilities. Prior to 2004, he served as a former Assistant Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service and Director of the National Immunization Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where Dr. Orenstein successfully developed, promoted, facilitated and expanded new vaccination strategies to enhance disease prevention.

Dr. Orenstein has authored and co-authored numerous books, journals and reviews. Along with Stanley Plotkin, MD and Paul Offit, MD, Dr. Orenstein co-edited Vaccines, 5th edition in 2008 – the leading textbook in the field. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. In 2006, he was elected to the Institute of Medicine. He is a past Chair of the WHO’s Poliomyelitis Technical Consultative Group and is currently a member of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee. Dr. Orenstein received his Bachelor of Science at The City College of New York and his degree in Medicine from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1972. He completed an internship and residency in pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, followed by a fellowship in infectious diseases at the University of Southern California Medical School. Dr. Orenstein also completed a residency in preventive medicine at the CDC. In 2006, he received an honorary Doctor of Science Degree from Wake Forrest University.

Vaccinate Your Family

In December 2015, Every Child By Two launched its Vaccinate Your Family (VYF) public education program and website. VYF aims to raise awareness of the critical importance of vaccines for people of all ages. It is the next generation of the Vaccinate Your Baby program, which focused on the importance of protecting infants against vaccine-preventable diseases.

The new website - www.VaccinateYourFamily.org - provides scientifically-accurate information about the vaccines that are recommended at every stage of life - pregnancy, baby/child, preteen/teen, and adult. In addition, the website includes personal stories about families affected by vaccine-preventable diseases, and links to a large number of educational resources and credible organizations. As part of this program launch, ECBT changed the name of its Facebook page to Vaccinate Your Family. (Previously the Vaccinate Your Baby Facebook page).

Visit the Vaccinate Your Familywebsite to learn how to help keep yourself, your family and your community safe through vaccination.

Campaigns

Over the years Every Child By Two has launched of number of campaigns aimed at informing providers and families about the safety and benefits of vaccines.

Kirsten Thistle

Kirsten Thistle is the national campaign director of Health is Primary, a public awareness campaign sponsored by Family Medicine for America's Health. She is also a founding partner of Health Impact Strategies.

As campaign director of Health is Primary, Kirsten led the strategic design of the campaign and is responsible for all aspects of its execution, including messaging, advertising, event management, digital engagement, media relations and stakeholder engagement.

Kirsten was previously senior vice president and head of the US Health Care practice at APCO Worldwide, a global public affairs agency. In that position, she advised corporate, association and non-profit clients on communications, advocacy and stakeholder engagement.

Kirsten has extensive experience running advocacy and awareness campaigns around health and science issues. For almost twenty years, she has focused on educating policymakers, the media and the public on the safety of vaccines and the value of immunizations across the lifespan. Kirsten serves on the board of directors for Every Child by Two (ECBT), a national vaccine advocacy group founded by former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and Betty Bumpers.

Prior to joining APCO, Kirsten served as legislative coordinator for the Consumer Specialty Products Association, the national trade group representing the consumer and institutional products industry. In that position, she managed legislative affairs on science and environmental issues. She was also responsible for fundraising and management of the association’s political action committee.

Kirsten held the position of speechwriter and legislative analyst for the Maryland General Assembly. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Business from Mount Saint Mary’s University. Kirsten served on the faculty of Johns Hopkins University Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and has taught graduate level courses in crisis and issues management.

Jennifer Zavolinsky, MHS, CHES

Jennifer Zavolinsky, MHS, CHES is the Director of Outreach Initiatives for Every Child By Two - Carter/Bumpers Champions for Immunization (ECBT). Since joining ECBT in 2003, Jennifer has been a leader in the field of immunization, collaborating with public health partners throughout the country to educate the public, healthcare providers, WIC staff and policy makers about the safety of vaccines and the need for timely immunizations for people of all ages. To help ECBT achieve its mission, Jennifer has presented and exhibited at state and national conferences; created and distributed educational resources for a variety of audiences; planned and co-hosted meetings and webinars; aided in planning Congressional Briefings to educate legislators; and helped to the develop and implement large public education initiatives including ECBT’s Vaccinate Your Family program, the Vaccinate Your Baby program and the Immunize On Time, Every Time program.

Jennifer’s commitment to vaccinations and public health is evident from her present and prior work in this field. Previous to her position at Every Child By Two, Jennifer served as the Senior Program Manager of the Immunization Initiative at the American Association of Health Plans (currently known as America’s Health Insurance Plans). While there, she focused her efforts on helping health plans increase their immunization rates for their members of all ages – children, adolescent and adults. Jennifer also serves on several committees and coalitions aimed at improving health through immunizations including the National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit (NAIIS) and several Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) work groups.

Jennifer obtained her Masters of Health Science (MHS) degree from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD and her Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Psychology from American University in Washington, DC. She also maintains her status as a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES).

Rich Greenaway

Rich Greenaway joined Every Child By Two (ECBT) in July of 2000 as the Director of Operations and Special Programs. In this capacity he assists the Executive Director in overseeing the day to day operations of ECBT and manages various aspects of both grant funded and general projects.

Rich is the ECBT representative to, and chair of the Immunization Coalition of Washington, DC; the ECBT representative to the DC Department of Schools Immunization Task Force; the ECBT representative to the DC School Nurses Task Force; and represents ECBT on Capitol Hill as the 317 Coalition liaison. Rich served as the chair of the Advisory Panel that created the Bringing Immunity to Every Community Continuing Education offering for Nurses and other health professionals, a cooperative effort between ECBT and the American Nurses Association. He was main point person to the Faith Based Working Group on Immunizations initiative which was a collaborative effort between ECBT and The Ecumenical Child Care Network.

Rich obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. Prior to working for Every Child By Two, Rich worked as the Immunization Grant Manager for the Immunization Cooperative Agreement between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Nurses Foundation (ANF) while concurrently acting as Continuing Education Liaison between the ANF and the American Nurses Association’s (ANA) Department of Continuing Education. Rich transferred to the ANF from the ANA where he worked as the Continuing Education Associate reporting directly to the ANA Director of Continuing Education.

Amy Pisani, MS

Amy Pisani, MS is a leading authority in pediatric health advocacy. As the executive director of Every Child By Two (ECBT). Pisani has played an integral part in setting standards for childhood immunization in America today. Since 1996, Pisani has worked with the ECBT Board of Directors and Staff to execute the mission and goals of the organization. Pisani began her career with ECBT as a program manager and was asked to become the Executive Director in 1998, at which time she successfully filed for incorporation and attained 501(c)(3) status for the organization. She is passionate about the need to ensure the timely vaccination of families throughout the world and is a true champion of Every Child By Two's mission.

To forward ECBT's mission, Pisani leads the organization in enlisting the support of elected officials and their spouses, concerned community leaders, and representatives of many national organizations. Pisani leads the group in legislative education, building alliances with like-minded interests, and educating the public through various communication channels including ECBT News, the Shot of Prevention blog, the Vaccinate Your Family Facebook page and ECBT's websites. Pisani maintains ECBT’s active, educational footing, through presenting at conferences, hosting congressional briefings, monitoring and acting on regulation and policy changes that affect immunization delivery, and developing campaigns that have educated hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

Pisani’s commitment to pediatric health is also evident in several other roles. Pisani serves as a member of the Mystic, CT Rotary Club where she serves as the chair of the Polio Plus Committee and she served as a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC). She is a member of the Board of Advisors to the Medical History Pictures Association. She is a founding member of the 317 Coalition, which seeks to ensure stable congressional funding for immunization programs each year. She has hosted the Childhood Immunization Policy Committee since 2002. She has also served as the Vice Chair of the Immunization Coalition of Washington, DC and as a Board member at The Center for Women’s Health. Pisani has also been active in several other children’s’ health organinzations and coalitions including Families Fighting Flu, the Advisory Committee on Breastfeeding Practices and the Tobacco Free Kids Youth Action Network. She has a passion for working with special needs children, including the deaf.

As a mother of two school-age children, Pisani has first-hand experience in navigating the healthcare system in order to ensure timely immunization of her family. Her oldest son was hospitalized from influenza twice during infancy; an experience that served to bolster her commitment to educating the public about the dangers of influenza. Beyond pediatrics, Pisani gained broader healthcare advocacy experience as the Education Program Coordinator at the Optical Society of America and as Senior Staff Specialist for the American Nurses Association. Pisani received her master’s of science from Gallaudet University for the Deaf, Washington, DC, and her baccalaureate degree in Psychology from Catholic University of America, Washington, DC.

Global Vaccine Efforts

Every 20 seconds a child dies around the world from a disease that can be prevented by a vaccine. Even with increased global immunization rates, one in five children still lacks access to these life-saving immunizations to protect them from diseases like polio, measles, diarrhea and pneumonia. Every Child By Two works with several organizations including Rotary International, The Task Force for Global Health, PATH, UNICEF and others to help expand access to vaccines in developing countries and potentially save over 1.5 million children every year. In 2012 the United Nations (UN) Foundation launched the Shot@Life campaign which ECBT proudly partners with. Every Child By Two has been helping to educate, connect and empower Americans to champion vaccines as one of the most cost-effective ways to save the lives of children in developing countries.

Read about ECBT's Executive Director's recent trip to Kenya in the effort to eradicate polio.

"Healthy children help create a healthier world for everyone. As we know, germs and diseases don't need a passport. Expanding access to vaccines strengthens our ability to fight disease globally and keep our families healthy here at home, while saving lives and improving economic stability around the world. I am honored and excited that Every Child By Two has joined forces with Shot@Life to educate Americans and advocate on the importance of childhood vaccines around the world," said ECBT's Cofounder Rosalynn Carter at the campaign's national launch in Atlanta. ECBT’s Vaccine Ambassador to Shot@Life, Actor and Mother Amanda Peet, also attended the launch and both woman have been actively involved in many of the campaign’s activities.

Immunizations give children around the world a shot at more "firsts." Keeping kids healthy is the best way to ensure they reach the milestones that many in America routinely celebrate and take for granted...first smiles, first steps, first birthdays, first day of school and more. Shot@Life focuses on universal childhood moments to mobilize Americans, especially moms, to support vaccines and give all children access to important childhood milestones.

Every Child By Two has been assisting in the recruitment of official “Shot@Life Champions”. These Champions represent the campaign’s strongest supporters across the nation and are a diverse group of moms, dads, students, bloggers and others who believe in the importance of vaccines. They receive training in media, advocacy, and event planning to become effective ambassadors for Shot@Life. The campaign also asks Americans to contact their members of Congress to urge them to support global immunization programs. Sustaining U.S. government support for global childhood vaccines is critical to building a healthier and more secure world for us all.

Every Child By Two and Shot@Life are supporting UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI), who all work to save lives and improve the health of millions of children by providing vaccines to children in developing countries.

For more information on how to get involved with the Shot@Life campaign, visit their website or Facebook page.

Billboard Campaign

Every Child By Two was chosen as a public service partner by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA). As such, ECBT was given the opportunity to place immunization posters on outdoor billboards and bus shelters across the country. While the advertising space is provided pro bono, national public service partners like ECBT are required to pay for the production of the billboard and bus shelter posters.

Through this partnership, in February 2012, Every Child By Two launched an outdoor advertising campaign aimed at educating the public about the critical need for timely immunizations and the importance of “cocooning”, and to promote ECBT’s Vaccinate Your Baby website. The website address is featured on the bottom of all billboard and bus shelter posters.

As part of this campaign, ECBT created and paid for the production of a variety of advertisements available in three types of posters/displays.

14’x48’ vinyl bulletins (for billboard displays)

125”x272” polyethylene posters (for billboard displays)

68.5”x 47.5” bus shelter posters

By placing ECBT’s posters on billboards and in bus shelters across the country, OAAA members are helping ECBT to promote important immunization messages to parents and other caregivers, thereby helping America’s children to stay happy and healthy.

Healthcare professionals and other vaccine advocates are welcome to print and distribute these posters on 8 1/2" by 11" paper . ECBT also has a limited number of 18" x 24" posters available for distribution. Visit the print resources section of this website for more information.

Below are two photos of ECBT's posters "from from the field".

Immunize On Time, Every Time

The Immunize On Time, Every Time campaign, launched in 2006, was the result of a collaboration between Every Child By Two and the immunization program and coalition staff in four states. This model program consists of a two-pronged campaign to educate healthcare providers and parents about the need to proactively ensure that children are vaccinated on time.

This original campaign took place in four cities – Cleveland, Houston, Newark and Las Vegas. The first part of the campaign consisted of public education events in the four locations, in which ECBT and its partners directed immunization outreach to families and the media.

Public Education

Cleveland - In Cleveland, ECBT had a booth on site at the city’s annual KidsFest street festival and was joined by the Ohio State Immunization Registry (IMPACT-SIIS), the Cleveland Department of Health (DOH), and the DOH mobile van. From the booth, the groups distributed immunization education and registry materials along with t-shirts, stickers, coloring books, rayons, plastic bags and “Build-A- Bear” teddy bears, which were all imprinted with the Immunize On Time, Every Time logo and/or an immunization message. Face painters were also used to draw children and their parents to the booth. Over 1,050 people visited the booth, and 90 provider names were given to the registry staff to aid them in provider recruitment. Through media outreach, 8.9 million people were reached and 14 local news articles about the campaign were written.

Houston - The public education event for Houston, which took place at the Children’s Museum of Houston, was billed as Immunization Night for Infants and Toddlers. The main partners involved in Houston’s Immunize On Time, Every Time campaign included the Houston Department of Health and Human Services (HHDHS), the Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services (HCPHES), the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), Texas Children’s Hospital, the Rotary Club of Houston, and Every Child By Two (ECBT). All actively participated in the Immunization Night event. Other groups with booths at Immunization Night included Houston-Harris County Immunization Registry (HHCIR), The Texas Immunization Registry, Early Collaboratives, HDHHS Women, Infants and Children’s Program, HDHHS Lead Screening and Prevention Program, HDHHS Dental Screening and Prevention Program, Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services Tobacco Prevention, AMERIGROUP (Medicaid Managed Care Plan), and Kids Program. HCPHES Services staff screened immunization records and had 6 nurses on site to provide free immunization for those children who were not up-to-date with their vaccines. In promoting this event, the campaign partners highlighted the importance of timely immunization for all ages, particularly under age two. However, there were vaccines available for all ages at Immunization Night, so no children needed to be turned away. To entertain the children at the event, large screen video monitors aired ECBT’s PSAs and the Arthur and the Chickenpox movie. In addition, ECBT hired 2 magicians to walk around the Children’s Museum to amuse the children with magic tricks while they were waiting in line for their immunizations

Approximately 2,000 people attended the event at the Museum and almost 200 children received immunizations. The immunizations were entered into HHCIR on site.

From the ECBT exhibit booth, 685 Immunize On Time, Every Time-imprinted plastic bags were distributed containing the CDC's Vaccine For Children (VFC) brochure; color handout with facts about immunizations specific to Houston; easy-to-read recommended immunization schedule in English and Spanish; ECBT’s Friends at the Zoo coloring books in English and Spanish; and boxes of crayons imprinted with immunization messages. ECBT also gave out t-shirts imprinted with immunization messages and Build-a-Bears.

A press release promoting the Immunize On Time, Every Time initiative was sent out via PR Newswire to Houston news outlets and Immunization Night and the main immunization messages were actively pitched a prior to the event. However, most of the invited media was unable to attend or cover the event due to a big late breaking news story. Many local and national broadcast and newspaper/news outlets ran the Houston press release on their websites.

Newark - The public education event in Newark took place at the 11th Annual Bergen Street Festival. Staff from the Newark Department of Health, the NJ Immunization Registry, the NJ Department of Health and Senior Services, and ECBT manned the “Baby Booth” at the festival and distributed immunization education information. In addition, ECBT distributed the same immunization logo-imprinted “giveaways” that were given out in at the Cleveland and Houston events. ECBT also hired face painters to draw families to the Baby Booth. Over 1,330 people stopped by the booth, including Newark’s Mayor Cory A. Booker. Five hundred provider names were volunteered by parents to the registry staff. Over 2.4 million people were reached with the campaign’s messages via the media. Immunization staff members from Newark were able to meet with Mayor Booker’s staff following the event to discuss their program goals and needs.

Las Vegas - The public education event in Las Vegas was the ECBT-hosted Baby Health Fair. The Fair took place in Lorenzi Park in Las Vegas. Partners represented at the fair included ECBT, the Nevada Department of Health, the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD), the Southern Nevada Immunization Coalition (SNIC), Nevada Health Resources, CDI Head Start, North Vista Hospital, Las Vegas Fire and Rescue, Las Vegas Police Department, Bilingual Behavioral Services, Courtney’s Children’s Foundation, and the Family Resource Center. Immunizations were provided to families at no cost, and the immunization records were entered into Nevada’s immunization registry on site. Nevada’s Big Shot Bunny, face painters, free food, a mariachi band and other activities were at the event to entertain the families. Dr. Sands from the SNHD, the Honorable Shelley Berkley, and Jack Carter spoke at the Fair. ECBT provided the same immunization imprinted “giveaways” as in the other three cities. Over 2,000 people attended the event. Approximately 4 million people were reached with the campaign’s immunization messages via the media. This included 4 television broadcast mentions in advance of the event, 1 broadcast segment, 2 radio stations, 1 print story about the event, and 4 print advertisements.

Provider Education

After the public education events in the four cities were complete, the partners of the Immunize on Time, Every Time initiative targeted immunization messages to providers.

An Immunization Education Packet was distributed to the Vaccines for Children (VFC) providers in each city. The packet included:

Depending on the city, modified immunization education packets were also distributed to OB-GYNs, daycare centers, WIC centers and prenatal classes.

Immunize On Time, Every Time Billboards and Posters - ECBT continued to work with immunization stakeholders in Las Vegas, Newark and Chicago on the creation of Immunize On Time, Every Time posters. These posters were placed on billboards, and on and in city buses.

Immunize On Time, Every Time PSAs - As part of the Immunize On Time, Every Time initiative, in early 2006, ECBT created three TV Public Service Announcements (PSAs) - Timely Immunization, Immunization Registries and Vaccine Safety . In order to reach a broader segment of our target audience, in 2007, ECBT created Spanish voice-overs for the PSAs so they could also be offered to Spanish TV stations. ECBT then hired News Broadcast Network (NBN) to distribute the PSAs in both English and Spanish to TV stations across the country. ECBT’s goal was to obtain both earned (free) and secured (paid) media placement. The three PSAs were first distributed to TV stations nationwide with a request that the PSA directors air the 30-second announcements free of charge. A small number of state health departments requested that their local TV stations only be given the Timely Immunization and Vaccine Safety PSAs because their registry was not ready to be promoted to the public.

In addition to airing the PSAs on television, ECBT also used other communication channels to place the Timely Immunization and Vaccine Safety spots. The PSAs were aired on televisions within Meijers food stores in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky. Each 30-second segment was aired in each of the 105 stores on screens located throughout the store. The segments aired six times per hour, 24/7, on two channels. Through these PSAs, ECBT reached an estimated audience of over 12 million with 8,640 broadcasts. ECBT also paid for placement of the English and Spanish PSAs on transit vehicles in Atlanta, Chicago, Milwaukee, Orlando, and Los Angeles. There were a total of 800 broadcasts, reaching an estimated audience of 9 million viewers.

The PSAs were aired online through a variety of channels including vertical media placement and online banner ads. As a result of the vertical media placement, there were over 500 hits to the ECBT website and the ECBT's PSAs were viewed over 16,000 times.The banner ads, which were placed on health-related websites, weather websites and news websites, resulted in over 10,000 visits to the website, and almost 2,200 viewings of our PSAs. ECBT also purchased “search engine optimization” to drive people to the ECBT website to view the PSAs and learn more information about immunizations. As a result there were almost 1,200 hits to the ECBT website and almost 2 million page views.

Finally, both the Timely Immunization and Vaccine Safety PSAs were aired on Health Watch, an international health/medical program with an estimated audience of 3 million.

ECBT has continued to use the Timely Immunization and Vaccine Safety PSAs over the years. They have been aired on The Newborn Channel, an in-hospital network that delivers essential newborn and parenting information to help prepare new moms when and where they need it most. The Newborn Channel is available free to patients in over 1,000 hospitals nationwide. They have also aired on the CNN Airport Network, which is a satellite television network broadcasting general news, weather, stock market updates and features in airports across the United States.

Vaccinate Your Baby

In 2008, Every Child By Two launched the Vaccinate Your Baby (VYB) campaign with volunteer spokesperson, actress and mother Amanda Peet, to urge parents to immunize their children against vaccine-preventable diseases. The campaign became a permanent ECBT program, and the foundation upon which ECBT conducted the majority of our public outreach. The program urged parents to follow the CDC-recommended immunization schedule, and addresses misinformation about vaccines that causes confusion among parents and puts children at risk for dangerous diseases. (Important Note: In 2015, ECBT broadened its mission and now has a new program, and a new website, called Vaccinate Your Family (VYF). VYF aims to increase awareness of the critical importance of vaccines for people of all ages. It is the next generation of the Vaccinate Your Baby program.)

Misinformation about vaccines needlessly jeopardizes the health of our children. Few people realize just how rigorously vaccines are tested before they are approved for use and how many safeguards are already in place to ensure the ongoing safety of vaccines after they are licensed. The Vaccinate Your Baby program aims to dispel these myths and remind parents to get the true facts before they make this critical decision regarding their children’s health.

Myths about the safety of immunizations have resulted real-life consequences. The United States continues to face both measles and pertussis outbreaks.

The Vaccinate Your Baby website contained information on vaccines and the diseases they prevent; stories from families affected by vaccine-preventable diseases; how vaccines are approved and tested for safety; links to immunization safety studies; and links to other credible websites and immunization resources. In addition, the website contained in-depth sections on the dangers of influenza and pertussis and the need to protect children by vaccinating the adults around them. This strategy is known as cocooning. The website also housed a series of video FAQs featuring experts responding to questions regarding the safety and necessity of vaccinations. These videos are linked from many partner sites including the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

The Vaccinate Your Baby Facebook page (now the Vaccinate Your Family Facebook page) boasts more than 147,000 "likes" and consists of passionate individuals who are highly engaged in the issue of vaccines. Nearly 6.4 million messages are viewed annually by our followers and their contacts. The Shot of Prevention blog is an online forum where individuals, parents, medical professionals and others can gather to discuss questions and current events regarding immunizations. This is a resource where these different voices can come together to share their perspectives and personal stories. The blog receives almost 500,000 views annually. Both the Shot of Prevention blog and the VYB Facebook page currently focus on vaccines across the lifespan.

To promote the Vaccinate Your Baby program and its messages, ECBT conducted outreach to the media and created radio and television public service announcements (PSAs). The two PSAs, featuring Amanda Peet and her infant daughter, were aired nationwide and remained in the top 7% air time slot during the first year of the campaign. The PSAs also aired on CNN Airport and The Newborn Channel.

The Vaccinate Your Baby campaign generated significant coverage in magazines and online mentions/blogs such as People, Cookie, Parenting, CBS and ABC News Online, NBC News, the New York Post, the New York Times, the New York Daily News, the Seattle Times, the Chicago Tribune, the LA Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, and USA Today.
Visit ECBT's new website - VaccinateYourFamily.org - to learn more about ECBT's newest initiative.

What We Do

Every Child By Two has conducted a myriad of activities in support of vaccinations in our almost twenty-five years career. Below are some of our most recent initiatives which we are proud to share with you.

Policies And Positions

ECBT’s position statements and policies reflect our organization's stance on key immunization topics that the board has identified as needing explanation, justification or recommendation. All statements can be downloaded free of charge, however written permission is required to republish excerpts from or full text of ECBT’s documents. Contact info@ecbt.org to obtain permission.

Staff

With over 42 years of combined experience in the field of immunization, Every Child By Two's staff are well respected in the immunization community, not only for their in depth amount of knowledge in the area of vaccines, but also for their passionate commitment to the cause of immunizations.

Scientific Advisory Board

The ECBT Scientific Advisory Board is a panel of vaccine experts who provide the organization with their scientific and medical expertise to help ECBT provide scientifically-accurate information to the public.

Questions sent to ECBT are answered based on science, ACIP recommendations and best practices. ECBT does not provide specific medical advice; however, we rely the members of the Scientific Advisory Board to help us when responding to questions from the public.

Board

Every Child By Two is fortunate to have a Board of Directors who are considered leaders in the immunization field across many disciplines. We have three categories within our board membership including board member, liaison member and advisory member. Board members have full voting rights, liaison and advisory members are non-voting positions. Click on the members name to view their bio.

Mission

To protect families and individuals from vaccine-preventable diseases by raising awareness of the critical need for timely immunizations for people of all ages, increasing the public’s understanding of the benefits of vaccines, increasing confidence in the safety of vaccines, ensuring that all families have access to life-saving vaccines, and advocating for policies that support timely vaccination.

About Us

Why We Do What We Do
We do what we do because we are passionate about the health of children and their families. This passion is instilled in our staff and Board of Directors through the unwavering dedication of our founders, Rosalynn Carter and Betty Bumpers who have spent nearly fifty years saving the lives of children.

Organizational Achievements and PrioritiesEvery Child By Two- Carter/Bumpers Champions for Immunization (ECBT) is a nonprofit organization committed to reducing the burden of vaccine-preventable diseases among families and individuals. For a quarter century, ECBT has conducted a myriad of activities aimed at reaching its goals of increasing awareness of the need for timely immunizations for people of all ages, increasing the public’s understanding of the benefits of vaccines, increasing confidence in the safety of vaccines, ensuring that all families have access to life-saving vaccines, and advocating for policies that support timely vaccination.

Every Child By Two was founded in 1991 by Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and Former First Lady of Arkansas Betty Bumpers as a response to the U.S. measles epidemic, which sickened more than 55,000 individuals, hospitalized over 11,000 and killed more than 120 people, many of them young children. Carter and Bumpers have been working on immunizations since their husbands were governors in the early 70s and have been credited with the passage of laws mandating school-age vaccination requirements in every state during the Carter Administration. From 1991-1999, ECBT’s cofounders traveled the entire nation to alert governors and their spouses, elected officials and concerned community leaders about the immunization challenges within their communities. This resulted in the establishment of immunization coalitions in nearly every state, which continue to thrive today. ECBT continues to work with partners at the grassroots and state level to recommend best practices and develop successful initiatives.

In 2000, ECBT was instrumental in working with the Clinton Administration to pass a mandate requiring federal agencies serving children to assess their immunization records. ECBT subsequently worked with public health partners to establish the immunization community’s collaboration with the USDA and their Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). As WIC serves approximately 50% of our nation's young children and pregnant women, it is a critical access point to reach these populations with immunization messages and services. Therefore, ECBT continues on a variety of joint initiatives with the USDA/WIC each year aimed at reducing economic and racial disparities in vaccination rates among WIC clients.

ECBT collaborated closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in support of efforts to develop Immunization Information Systems (IIS) in every state that are able to track children’s vaccination records and send reminders to providers when their patients’ vaccines are due. As this effort aligned perfectly with ECBT’s former mission to “foster the establishment of a systematic method to locate and immunize children”, ECBT worked closely with partners to educate governors, members of Congress, health plans, schools, and providers about the benefits of funding the establishment of IIS, reporting data to IIS and utilizing the data from these systems to increase timely immunization.

ECBT consistently serves as a source to the national and local media reporting on vaccine-related issues. In addition, our regular meetings with parenting magazine editors have informed articles in a variety of print and online publications. In 2008, ECBT initiated the largest campaign in the history of our organization – Vaccinate Your Baby (VYB). VYB, which became a long-term program of ECBT. VYB targeted families with messages about the importance of timely vaccination of children. By directing the public to credible, science-based information on vaccines, ECBT wanted to ensure they were making educated vaccination decisions for themselves and their families. The program included the Vaccinate Your Baby website, the Shot of Prevention blog, the Vaccinate Your Baby Facebook page and two Twitter feeds (@EveryChildby2 and @ShotofPrev). As a result of the VYB program, ECBT has become one of the largest online sources for pro-vaccination information.

In December 2015, ECBT's Vaccinate Your Baby program expanded to include the whole family. This new initiative, Vaccinate Your Family, promotes the importance of vaccinating people of all ages, and includes a new website - www.VaccinateYourFamily.org. This site replaces the Vaccinate Your Baby website, and has information on vaccines for pregnant women, babies/children, preteens/teens, and adults. It also includes stories of families affected by vaccine-preventable diseases, and links to a variety of resources from ECBT and other credible organizations. Additionally, in conjunction with the launch of the new program, ECBT changed the name of its popular Facebook page to Vaccinate Your Family.

In addition to educating the public about vaccines, ECBT also works to keep healthcare providers and public health partners up-to-date on the latest immunization information, and strives to assist vaccine advocates in their immunization education and policy efforts. ECBT News keeps immunization stakeholders throughout the nation apprised about timely vaccine-related issues and alerts them to take action on issues such as the congressional vaccine budget, state immunization legislation and other pertinent issues. ECBT Daily Clips are provided each weekday morning to subscribers to apprise them of vaccine-related news items that appear in national and local publications. The purpose of this service is to act as a catalyst for immunization coalition and health department staff that aim to better educate their local media on issues related to immunizations and vaccine safety. Healthcare practitioners report that the clips also help to inform them in advance of questions that may be presented by patients and parents when news stories arise regarding outbreaks in local communities, safety issues, and so forth. The ECBT website contains information on vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases along with suggested strategies and resources to assist healthcare providers and other advocates in raising immunization rates and encouraging pro-vaccination legislation.

ECBT remains committed to ensuring that public health policies and laws are based on sound scientific evidence. To this end, ECBT monitors and acts on legislation, regulations and policies that affect immunization delivery at both the state and federal levels. Additionally, ECBT serves as a founding member of the 317 Coalition, which seeks to ensure stable congressional funding to state and city immunization programs across the country each year. ECBT also hosts the monthly Childhood Immunization Policy Call, which provides immunization stakeholders with a forum to discuss issues related to childhood immunization policies and offer guidance to one another on actions needed to forward pro-vaccine legislation, support current legislation, and oppose legislation that is not supported by sound science. Furthermore, ECBT educates federal legislators by hosting congressional briefings and attending one-on-one meetings with members of Congress and their staffers to encourage ongoing support of immunizations and the critical vaccine infrastructure that ensures the delivery of safe and effective vaccines.

Through 25 years of service, Every Child by Two and its partners in public health have developed many successful strategies to ensure that every child in our nation is protected from vaccine-preventable diseases; however, there is still much to be done. ECBT will continue our efforts to protect families against deadly diseases knowing that as long as a single person becomes ill from a vaccine-preventable disease, our work is not complete.

Who We Are

Every Child By Two - Carter/Bumpers Champions for Immunization (ECBT) is a nonprofit organization committed to reducing the burden of vaccine-preventable diseases in families and individuals. For more than two decades, ECBT has been conducting a myriad of activities aimed at reaching its goals of increasing awareness of the need for timely immunizations for people of all ages, increasing the public’s understanding of the benefits of vaccines, increasing confidence in the safety of vaccines, ensuring that all families have access to life-saving vaccines, and advocating for policies that support timely vaccination.

Nancy Messonnier, MD, CAPT, USPHS

Dr. Nancy Messonnier (CAPT, USPHS) is Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Since beginning her public health career in 1995 as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer in 1995 in the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID), Dr. Messonnier has held a number of leadership posts across CDC and within NCIRD. She served as Deputy Director for NCIRD from October 2014 through March 2016 and led the Meningitis and Vaccine Preventable Diseases Branch in NCIRD's Division of Bacterial Diseases since its formation in 2007 through 2012. She has also served as Interim Director of the Advanced Molecular Detection Implementation team in the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases (NCEZID), Acting Deputy Director of the Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services (CSELS), Acting Director of the Division of Global Health Protection in the Center for Global Health, and Chief of the Meningitis and Special Pathogens Branch in NCID. She brings strong management and leadership skills, commitment to staff mentoring and development, and a passion for immunization and infectious disease prevention.

Dr. Messonnier has provided critical leadership to CDC's cross-cutting laboratory, global health, and surveillance initiatives. She played a pivotal role in the successful public-private partnership to develop and implement a low cost vaccine to prevent epidemic meningococcal meningitis in Africa. More than 150 million people in the African Meningitis Belt have been vaccinated with MenAfriVac since 2010, with remarkable impact. Dr. Messonnier also has been a leader in CDC's preparedness and response to anthrax, serving on response teams in Florida and Washington DC during the 2001 intentional anthrax release and leading the post-exposure antibiotic and vaccine prophylaxis evaluation. She also served in leadership roles evaluating simplified schedules for use of licensed anthrax vaccine. Dr. Messonnier has been a champion for prevention and control of bacterial meningitis in the United States—from drafting the initial recommendations for meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine use in those heading for college, to the introduction of meningococcal conjugate vaccines for routine use in teens. She also oversaw a family of studies exploring resurgence of pertussis in the United States and characterizing post-licensure effectiveness of acellular pertussis vaccines.

Dr. Messonnier has written more than 140 articles and chapters and has received numerous awards, including, in 2011, NCIRD's Philip Horne Award for unparalleled scientific contributions, exceptional mentorship, and staff development as well as the 2009 Federal Executive Board's Excellence in Action Outstanding Team award for the Anthrax Vaccine Research Program.

Dr. Messonnier received her BA from the University of Pennsylvania and MD from the University of Chicago School of Medicine. She completed internal medicine residency training at the University of Pennsylvania.